New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. They are one of three NHL franchises located in the New York metropolitan area; the others being the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
Founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard, the Rangers are one of the Original Six teams that competed in the NHL before its 1967 expansion, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The team attained success early on under the guidance of Lester Patrick, who coached a team containing Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, and Bun and Bill Cook to win the Stanley Cup in only their second season. In 1928, they became the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the trophy, and are still the fastest true expansion team in NHL history to do so. The team won two more Stanley Cups in 1933 and 1940.
Following this initial grace period, the franchise struggled between the 1940s and 1960s, where playoff appearances and successes were infrequent. The team enjoyed a mini-renaissance in the 1970s, where they made the Stanley Cup Final twice, losing to the Bruins in 1972 and the Canadiens in 1979. The Rangers subsequently embraced a rebuild for much of the 1980s and early 1990s, which eventually paid dividends in 1994, where the team, led by Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter, captured their fourth Stanley Cup.
The team was unable to duplicate that success in the years that followed, and entered into another period of mediocrity, enduring a franchise-record seven-year postseason drought from 1998 to 2005. After the arrival of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in 2006, the Rangers thrived, missing the playoffs just once between then and 2017. The Rangers returned to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, falling to the Los Angeles Kings in five games. Between 2012 and 2024, they reached the Eastern Conference finals five times.
History
Early years (1926–1942)
, president of Madison Square Garden, was awarded an NHL franchise for the 1926–27 season to compete with the New York Americans, who had begun play at the Garden the previous season. The Americans' early success in their inaugural season exceeded expectations, leading Rickard to pursue a second team for the Garden despite promising the Americans that they were going to be the only ice hockey team to play there. The team was originally incorporated under the name "New York Giants Professional Hockey Club" during a league meeting with NHL president Frank Calder on April 17, 1926, but during the meeting the name was then changed to "New York Rangers Hockey Club." The franchise's nickname is attributed to sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, George Haley, who referred to the new team as "Tex's Rangers" because of Rickard's decision to bring a new NHL team to New York.Rickard's franchise began play in the 1926–27 season. The first team crest played on the club's name with a rearing horse sketched in blue carrying a cowboy waving a hockey stick aloft, with the word "TEX'S" in a crescent at the top of the emblem with "RANGERS" below it. Rickard rejected that design and management settled on a crest similar to the Americans, a "shield" shape with "NEW YORK" horizontally across the top of the shield and "RANGERS" written diagonally from the top left to bottom right. The diagonal positioning of "RANGERS" carried over to the front of the solid blue jerseys. Future Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was hired to assemble the team. However, he had a falling-out with Rickard's associate, John S. Hammond, and was fired as manager-coach on the eve of the first season – he was paid a then-hefty $2,500 to leave. Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick. The new team Smythe assembled turned out to be a winner. The Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs.
The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring Twenties nightlife. It was during this time, playing at the Garden on 49th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts". On December 13, 1929, the Rangers became the first team in the NHL to travel by plane when they hired the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to fly them to Toronto for a game against the Maple Leafs, which they lost 7–6.
Stanley Cup success (1927–1942)
In only their second season, they won the 1928 Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons in five games. One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the Cup Final series involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44. At the time, teams were not required to dress a backup goaltender. When the Rangers' starting goaltender, Lorne Chabot, left a game with an eye injury, Maroons head coach Eddie Gerard vetoed Patrick's original choice for an emergency replacement, Alex Connell of the Ottawa Senators, who was in attendance. An angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in game two of the Stanley Cup Final, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher scored the game-winning goal in overtime for New York.After a loss to the Bruins in the 1929 Stanley Cup Final, the Rangers, led by brothers Bill and Bun Cook on the right and left wings, respectively, and Frank Boucher at center, defeated the Maple Leafs in the 1933 Stanley Cup Final to win their second Stanley Cup. Lester Patrick stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Frank Boucher.
File:The Bread Line.jpg|thumb|The Bread Line was the Rangers' first notable line. Consisting of Bill Cook, Bun Cook and Frank Boucher, they played together from 1926 to 1937.
In the 1939–40 season, the Rangers finished the regular season in second place behind Boston. The two teams then met in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gained a 2–1 series lead on New York, but the Rangers recovered to win three straight games, defeating the first-place Bruins four games to two. The Rangers' first-round victory advanced them to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. Following the Brooklyn Americans fold in 1942, and the league reneging on Red Dutton's promise to have the Americans return, Dutton swore a curse on the Rangers.
Original Six era (1942–1967)
The Rangers collapsed by the mid-1940s, losing games by scores as lopsided as 15–0. In 1943–44, goaltender Ken McAuley led the league with 39 losses and 310 goals allowed in 50 games played; his 6.24 goals-against average that year remains the worst in NHL history by a goaltender playing at least 25 games in a season. They missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons before earning the fourth and final playoff spot in 1947–48, losing in the first round. In December, 1948, Boucher resigned as head coach remaining as general manager, giving control to Lynn Patrick, the son of Lester Patrick. In the 1950 Stanley Cup Final, the Rangers were forced to play all of their games, including "home" games, in Toronto, while the circus was held at the Garden. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime in the seventh game of the series.During this time, Red Wings owner James E. Norris became the largest stockholder in the Garden. However, he did not buy controlling interest in the arena, which would have violated the NHL's rule against one person owning more than one team. Nonetheless, he had enough support on the board to exercise de facto control. The Rangers missed the playoffs 12 of the next 16 years within the remainder of the Original Six era. Boucher, who had been general manager of the squad, resigned citing depression over the team's inability to be a contender. His successor, Muzz Patrick, the younger brother of Lynn Patrick, did not fare well either, resigning in 1964 following criticism about management's unwillingness to improve the team by spending money. Emile Francis took over as both coach and general manager. After a five-year absence, the team made the playoffs, aided by goaltender Eddie Giacomin and 37-year-old former Montreal Canadiens right wing Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, who signed out of retirement in 1966.
Post-Original Six era (1967–1993)
GAG line and championship appearances (1967–1980)
In 1968, the Rangers moved into the fourth version of Madison Square Garden. During the 1969–70 season, the Rangers acquired veteran goaltender Terry Sawchuk, playing his final season with New York.In 1971–72, the Rangers reached the 1972 Stanley Cup Final despite losing high-scoring center Jean Ratelle to injury during the last half of the regular season. The strength of players such as Brad Park, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert carried them through the playoffs. They defeated the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Black Hawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the Cup Final.
The following season in 1972–73, the team made the semifinals against the Black Hawks again, but lost in five games. The Rangers' conference semifinals series against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1974 playoffs, which they lost in seven games became the first Original Six club to lose a playoff series to a 1967 expansion team. This series was noted for a game seven fight between Dale Rolfe of the Rangers and Dave Schultz of the Flyers. The Rangers' new rivals, the New York Islanders, who entered the League in 1972–73 after paying a territorial fee – $4 million – to the Rangers, were their first-round opponents in the 1975 playoffs. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders defeated the Rangers 11 seconds into overtime of the deciding game three.
In a blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins, the Rangers acquired Esposito and Carol Vadnais from the Bruins for Park, Ratelle and Joe Zanussi in 1975–76. On January 8, 1976, Emile Francis was fired after the team got to a bad start. Ron Stewart who was coaching the team was also fired. John Ferguson Sr. took over as both coach and general manager for the remainder of the season. To assist in Ferguson's contention building, the team acquired Ken Hodge from Bruins in exchange for Rick Middleton. However, the team failed to make a playoff push and Ferguson was fired in 1978. Madison Square Garden's new owner, Sonny Werblin, hired Fred Shero to take over as head coach and general manager. In the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Rangers defeated the Islanders in the semifinals and advanced to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Canadiens.